GOOSING WHAT REMAINS OF THE AMERICAN CHARACTER! ***
"We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence." - Sir Winston Churchill, 1946

Oct 29, 2008

Sick of being left out of the party? Tired of constantly defending yourself against charges of racism, homophobia, sexism, and barbaric insensitivity toward those less fortunate? Had enough destroying personal relationships because of your silly principles? We have the solution. All you need to do is utter one little word and your troubles will be over! WATCH AND LEARN MORE!

Oct 24, 2008

“We will be judged in the future on the actions we take today – on results. On this United Nations Day, let us rededicate ourselves to achieving them.”- Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General (You betcha Bannie!)

“We must set aside our individual wants and partisan views” declares the platform. But of course. One would expect nothing less from a group “inspired by faith and building on our nation’s founding principles.”

The very non-partisan, painstakingly centrist “Platform for the Common Good” was hammered out in Philadelphia this past summer, evidently to improve upon the work of the Framers in 1787. You see Madison, Hamilton, Franklin, Washington et al seem to have been a bit myopic in their efforts.

“Our founders had a powerful vision for this nation. We have struggled for more than 200 years to build on that vision – and to renew and perfect the early ideals by making them real not just for a privileged few, but for all who reside within our boundaries. Furthermore, in today’s world we know we cannot be content with just a limited national focus. We are linked globally and must engage that reality as well.”

Heretofore, says the “Platform for the Common Good”, America has failed to live up to its promise. But fear not, there is HOPE for CHANGE.

“By working for the principles contained in this Platform for the Common Good, we will become the country that we say we are, authentically affirming what our founders wrote with pride.”

This all sounds a bit familiar but we just can’t seem to place it. No matter. The Convention for the Common Good is doing God’s work, addressing multiple American social ills that are “inextricably linked.”

“For example, we could not separate problems in our immigration system from unfair trade polices and discrimination – or the massive funding of war from an underfunding of education, health, and other human programs.”

The distinctly non-partisan, meticulously non-ideological platform is then presented in a sort of quasi-U.S. Constitution format as clearly the conventioneers are vastly familiar with the parameters and ramifications of that particular document.

A few highlights:

· Better regulate corporations and financial institutions· Enhance workers’ rights to join unions without fear of harassment· Sign and ratify international conventions that promote economic justice and human rights· Work to lessen income disparities and to reform tax policies that favor the wealthy and corporate interests· Ensure immigrants’ (legal? Illegal? Not clarified) rights to fair wages and safe working environments, and the rights to organize and join unions· Support and promote programs that promote a fair distribution of resources and serve vulnerable populations· Create community zoning that encourages mixed-use and mixed-income development along with green spaces (Fortunately, ACORN’s got this pretty well all sewn up.)· Ensure that convenient, safe public transportation is available in all communities· Reduce the military weapons budget and invest in basic human needs· Restore the constitutional balance of power between the executive and legislative branches on the responsibility for using military force· End the U.S. occupation of Iraq, remove U.S. combat troops, and accept responsibility for assisting Iraqi refugees and rebuilding civil society· Support human life and dignity by approving and funding programs that promote the dignity of all life (e.g. quality housing, child care, healthcare, and nutrition assistance.)· Create green and public works jobs to reduce unemployment· End tax loopholes and other incentives that make it easier for businesses to leave the U.S.· Institute affordable, universal quality healthcare· Fully fund anti-hunger programs like food stamps and infant nutrition programs· Increase education funding· Pay teachers fair and adequate wages· Increase funding for safe, affordable housing, especially for people who are homeless, and ensure inclusionary housing (again ACORN has this all handled)· Pass legislation to conserve resources and address global warming

And one of particular interest…

· Promote policies that prevent and reduce abortions by supporting women and families.(Note here the use of the verb “reduce.” The verb “abolish” is not here employed as it is in reference to the death penalty. We are merely to “reduce” abortion. Recall that this is a political statement by official adjuncts of the Catholic Church. Hmmm. Again, this language seems so familiar? Images of Greek columns and throngs of devoted come to mind but … we simply cannot place it.)

Now there are those cynically minded individuals among us who might claim that this “Platform for the Common Good” is as non-partisan as Dr. Howard Dean’s speed-dial menu. Some might even claim that the majority of it was cut-and-pasted directly from the DNC 2008 platform entitled, “Renewing America’s Promise” and declaring that “A great nation now demands that its leaders abandon the politics of partisan division and find creative solutions to promote the common good.” Still others might claim that the Platform’s authors seek to exploit the politically unsophisticated (i.e. most of the electorate) through strategic employment of terms such as “justice”, “dignity”, “rights”, “fair”, and “equal” to convince them that it is their Christian duty to grant the Federal government still more taxing authority by which to confiscate and redistribute as they see fit the incomes of hard working Americans.

We, of course, would never stoop to such cynicism. After all, the Convention for the Common Good is comprised of high-profile Catholic religious organizations such as Pax Christi USA, Franciscan Action Network, NETWORK a National Social Justice Lobby and many others. A perusal of any one of their websites will quickly reveal these organizations’ Herculean efforts to embrace and weigh the full-spectrum of political perspective regarding the key issues of our time.

Nonetheless, we do feel the conventioneers may have overlooked an item or two in their efforts to improve upon the work of the Framers. Thus it is in that spirit of immaculate non-partisanship, transcendent of all ideological bias, established by the Convention for the Common Good, we present our own fantastically non-partisan, unbiased, and unspeakably fair-minded recommended additions to their platform.

· Peace through strength. Increase and maintain defense spending at about four percent of gross domestic product to replace aging weapons and platforms. There is evil in the world and it must be checked. As selfish people often employ violence to gratify their desires, we must be prepared to stop them in order to protect the innocent; locally, nationally, and internationally

· Create jobs and reduce poverty by making the Bush tax cuts permanent, thereby enabling those paying the majority of taxes (i.e. “the rich”) to invest and spend their money on products, services, and opportunities they feel will provide the greatest return on investment.

· Further reduce poverty by reducing taxes that affect those of lower income most acutely: property taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes

· Limit Federal government authority (and thus spending) according to the parameters originally prescribed by the Constitution, thereby minimizing the need for excessive taxation

· Reduce the cost of living – felt most keenly by those of lower income - by repealing the ethanol mandate, relaxing superfluous environmental regulations on energy producing companies, and allowing domestic energy production to reinvigorate its capacity

· Eliminate all welfare programs – for both individuals and corporations – as they succeed only in breeding dependence, corruption, and the immoral transference of private property

Lastly, in keeping with the conventioneer’s clever Constitution motif, we would close with a quote from the father of said Constitution, Mr. James Madison.

“The government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specific objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” - James Madison, before the House of Representatives, 1794

Now then, with these additions, we believe the “Platform for the Common Good” provides voters a truly non-partisan Catholic perspective on the key issues.

We expect to see them incorporated soon after hell freezes over.

Among the more brilliant operations carried out by the radical Left in the 20th century was their infiltration of American religious institutions. In the Catholic Church, this was done through the machinations of what is called “Liberation Theology.” Doing so has provided Marxists a direct conduit to the hearts and minds of America’s best, through which to demoralize and undermine their faith in the founding principles of their nation on a weekly basis.

Thus, today when presented with unabashed Leftism as in the “Platform for the Common Good” and told it is in fact “Catholic Social Teaching,” legions of faithful bat not an eye and march obediently to the polls to “vote their conscience,” convinced at long last that, in fact, Jesus Is a Liberal.

In their 1848 smash hit “Manifesto of the Communist Party”, Marx and Engels scoffed, “Nothing is easier than to give Christian asceticism a socialist tinge.” The genius of the modern Left was their realization that the opposite is also true: nothing is easier than to give socialist asceticism a Christian tinge.

And lo, one by one, foundational institutions such as the Catholic Church which once demanded and inspired the best in man, now seek only to enable the worst in him.

Oct 17, 2008

Manufactured economic crises, unapologetic advocacy of Marxist principles, blatant and now legally sanctioned voter fraud …. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, your nation is being stolen out from under your feet.

Oct 13, 2008

“Gordon Brown now sees himself adopting the mantle of Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt, architects of the reconstruction of the global economy after the Second World War.An hour after setting out his £37 billion rescue plan for three of Britain's major banks - the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB – Mr. Brown was outlining his proposals for reform of the world's financial system.

‘What is a truly global problem requires a truly global solution,’ he said.

World leaders - clearly including himself - must now show the same ‘courage and foresight’ in reforming the international financial system as Roosevelt and Churchill did more than sixty years ago.”

Oct 10, 2008

“Some regard private enterprise as if it were a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look upon it as a cow that they can milk. Only a handful see it for what it really is - the strong horse that pulls the whole cart.” – Sir Winston Churchill

The horse has been corralled and gelded. The cow milked dry. All that remains to be done is shoot the tiger. The American electorate has it in their sites, and appears eager to fire.

Oct 7, 2008

UPDATE: "The End of Capitalism?" Excellent analysis from the American Conservative Union Foundation.

UPDATE: Excellent redux of the whole bloody mess. Human Events, "Democrats Behind CRA Cover-Up " Excerpt: "But unless the American public is told, re-told, and educated about how we got here, there won’t be reform of the bailed-out-but-still-alive GSEs nor of the CRA. Then we would witness more big government, giving us far more help than we can afford. "

Oct 3, 2008

“No, we’re talking far more than curing a potential recession; we’re talking about preserving America as the greatest and most successful experiment in freedom that humankind has ever experienced. We are bogged down trying to understand derivatives, swaps, and other arcane minutia of modern capitalism while overlooking what is really happening. This is the final takeover of America.”(whole column)

“God grant those few responsible yet remaining in Washington, DC the strength to prevent this massive fraud from occurring. God grant them the courage to stand up in the face of this Marxist tidal wave.”(whole brilliant/terrifying article).

- Jim Simpson is a former White House staff economist and budget analyst.

“The risks of rushing this reckless bill through are immense because setting off down the wrong path now could turn a big problem into a disaster. The House should not be scared by cries of “Fire! Fire!” into gambling away $700 billion of taxpayer money. The House owes it to the American people to take whatever time and effort are necessary to determine the real nature of the current liquidity problems and then to devise more effective solutions that do not threaten to bankrupt the federal government and impoverish the next generation.” (whole statement)

Not only has the "Sing for Change" You Tube video gone missing, but our post linking to it seems to have been erased from our blog as well, with neither our knowledge nor permission.

This is a first for us. This is not a publicity stunt. This is rather astonishing.

For those who have not seen it, the You Tube video depicted an assortment of kiddie-winkies, aged roughly eight to 11, singing the praises of Democratic candidate for President, Barack Obama, at the behest (gunpoint?) of their exceedingly enthusiastic parents or guardians.

As the video served not so much to inspire support for Mr. Obama as to conjure images of previous politically motivated youth indoctrination efforts not particularly in the interest of either youth or humanity in general, it has been removed from YouTube.; understandable from a political point of view – not to mention pathetic and laughable.

What is not understandable nor laughable and more frightening than pathetic, is that our post linking to this video has been somehow stricken from the front page of our blog. A screen grab of the post is pictured above. Oddly the post remains in our dashboard. A mere technical glitch then? Entirely possible. But this has never occurred before. And as it coincides with the removal of the video from YouTube – in fact the entire http://www.singforchange.com/ website is gone – we smell something of a rat.

We shall continue our investigation. If this is NOT a mere coincidence or technical error, we shall squawk our vehement displeasure from the highest mountains.

Cheers,

Charlie

UPDATE: We have found the issue. Our dashboard was set to display only three posts. We do not recall setting it thusly, though it is possible. The display function has been reset and our post has returned to the front page. We shall remain vigilant, however. This remains extremely odd.

UPDATE 2: It's been resurrected! Thanks to the diligence of our dear friend Krishna , an archived version of the masterpiece has been found, much to the Obama campaign's chagrin. Enjoy!

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”- Sir Winston Churchill, 1942 (happier times)

As congress continues its little badminton match with the America (i.e. GLOBAL) economy, consider the following:

1. The number we’ve all been trained to fix our sights on as the key to salvation - $700 billion – is a complete and utter guess.

2. The number we’ve all been told to fix out sights on as the key to salvation - $700 billion – is but a fraction of what it will cost America to buy it’s way out of the entitlement hell-hole it has made of its economy. (Click on graphic to enlarge, read, and weep.)

Now would be the time for the “represented” to contact their “representatives” and demand some serious “representation.”

This cannot go on. The Nanny State must be ousted and the Founding Principles reinstated, lest all be lost.

It would appear that in 2004 congressional hearings, condensed for your viewing pleasure here, Democrats rather vehemently defended Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac against Republican warnings of impending disaster and calls for greater regulation.

It would appear that former President Bill Clinton confirms this fact (watch the entire video).

Oct 1, 2008

"It is our wish and will that this State and this Reich shall endure in the millenniums to come. We can be happy in the knowledge that this future belongs to us completely. (applause) While the older generation could still waver, the younger generation has pledged itself to us and is ours, body and soul!"- Adolf Hitler, Nuremburg, 1934